Duty of Candour is the legal requirement for all NHS providers to be open and honest with patients and their families if something does not go as planned which may cause harm. Duty of Candour must be applied to any incident where moderate or greater harm has been caused. This involves:

  • Telling the patient / their family when something has gone wrong
  • Apologising to the patient / their family
  • Including the patient and their family (if they wish) in the review of the incident and share the report if they wish to see it.

Below are some useful resources which give more information about Duty of Candour and processes for applying it.

Duty of Candour and Serious Incident clinics are now available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon between 1.30pm and 3.30pm.  The Duty of Candour clinics are available to provide guidance and support on the application of duty of candour as set out in the policy.   To book a place on one of these clinics please contact:  seriousincidents@merseycare.nhs.uk or Justine.Collins1@merseycare.nhs.uk.

If you have any queries please contact the Patient Safety Team